1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to personal mobility vehicles and more particularly to an improved footrest and/or an improved footrest system for a personal mobility vehicle and an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle for switching between a front wheel drive operation and a rear wheel drive operation.
2. Description of the related Art
The aging population has provided a substantial increase in the use of personal mobility vehicles. Personal mobility vehicles provide persons with partial or total walking disabilities with an increased range and greater flexibility in locomotion. The increased use of personal mobility vehicles has required the development of more technically superior features that enable the personal mobility vehicle to be used in various locations and terrain. Personal mobility vehicles may be classified as either scooters or powered wheel chairs.
Scooter personal mobility vehicles have a pair of powered rear wheels and a steerable front wheel configured in the general appearance of a miniature golf cart. The track of the powered rear wheels of the personal mobility vehicle is generally narrower than a conventional wheelchair.
Power wheelchair personal mobility vehicles have a pair of powered wheels and a pair of idler wheels. In many cases, the pair of idler wheels take the form of caster wheels. The power wheelchairs were designed to be more maneuverable than a conventional wheelchair. Typically, power wheelchairs have a smaller width and a shorter overall length than a convention wheelchair.
The powered wheels of a power wheelchair are individually powered for steering the power wheelchair. The individual powered wheels provide a tight turning radius for the power wheelchair. The power wheelchair can either be a front wheel drive or a rear wheel drive power wheelchair. A front wheel drive power wheelchair is generally more maneuverable than a rear wheel drive powered wheel chair. In addition, the front wheel drive power wheelchair has more traction and accommodates larger obstacles such as larger curbs and larger bumps than a rear wheel drive power wheelchair. In contrast, the rear wheel drive powered wheel chair has better high speed stability than a front wheel drive power wheelchair. Accordingly, the front wheel drive power wheelchair is generally more suitable for indoor use whereas the rear wheel drive power wheelchair is generally more suitable for outdoor use.
Some in the prior art have provided a power wheelchair than can be converted between a front wheel drive and a rear wheel drive power wheelchair. The power wheelchair could be converted into a front wheel drive for indoor use and could be converted into a rear wheel drive for outdoor use. The following U.S. Patents are representative of front wheel drive and rear wheel drive power wheelchairs.
In order to operate either as a front wheel drive wheelchair or rear wheel drive wheelchair, the electrical control must be modified to accommodate for the different forward and reverse direction of the electric motors when the rear wheel drive powered wheelchair is transformed into a front wheel drive wheelchair. The following U.S. Patents disclose an apparatus for switching the power supply for accommodating either a front or rear wheel drive powered wheelchair.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,273 to Steven discloses a hospital chair having wheels and electric motors for driving the wheels by electric switches for supplying operating current to the motors. A manually operable lever having a neutral or inoperative position is carried by the chair and operable by movement away from its neutral position to close the switches to operate the motors. Mechanical brakes are normally applied to the motors by spring pressure. An electrical means independent from the motor circuit is provided to release the brakes. A lever is operable during its initial movement to actuate the last named electrical means to release the brakes before the motors are started.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,949 to Anderson discloses a universal, adjustable-height powered wheelchair for the severely disabled, such as a quadriplegic driver. The wheelchair has a powered elevating mechanism capable of raising the seat and occupant from a height of 6 inches to 26 inches above the ground. It is capable of climbing a 12-inch high curb and may be used while driving any standard-sized two-door sedan.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,503 to Mackintosh discloses a wheelchair assembly including an occupant seat having a central shaft for mounting the seat on an undercarriage for universal tilting movement, for vertical movement along the shaft axis and for rotation about such axis. The undercarriage has a plurality of ground engaging wheels driven together by a driving mechanism which includes a drive motor and steered together by a steering mechanism which includes a steering motor. The steering motor may be operatively connected with both the seat and the wheels for turning them together by operation of a control assembly, or the steering motor may be operatively connected with only the seat or with only the wheels for independent operation. Otherwise, the steering mechanism may couple the seat with the wheels while the steering motor is disconnected so that wheel steering may be operated by a manual turning of the seat. An analyzer assembly compares the direction of travel chosen by the seat occupant to the actual orientation of the wheels and then directs the steering motor to align the wheels to the direction chosen, without turning the chair. The seat is automatically tilted toward a direction opposite that to which, it tends to lean when the wheelchair moves up an incline or down a decline.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,278 to Meyer discloses an electrically driven wheelchair having steerable rear wheels controllable by means of a joystick control operating an electromechanical steering mechanism including a control circuit. The electrical control circuit includes a voltage divider which receives a voltage determined according to the travelling speed of the wheelchair to enable the turning circle of the steering mechanism to be adjusted in relation to the travelling speed, so that at high speeds a large turning circle only is available while at low speeds a small turning circle is allowed, thereby minimizing the possibility of tipping the wheelchair over by turning too sharply at high speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,766 to Basedow discloses, wheel-chairs having large diameter drive wheels and small diameter steerable wheels. Wheel-chairs for indoor operation have drive wheels as their rear wheels, while wheel-chairs for outdoor operation have their drive wheels as front wheels. In the wheel chair according to the invention, the seat assembly is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis by means of a supporting column above the chassis, such that, depending on the purpose of use of the wheel-chair, the large drive wheels are selectively disposed in the front or rear position with respect to the seating direction. In this way, the wheel chair may be used both indoors and outdoors in an optimum manner. Additional positioning alternatives of the seat assembly relative to the chassis, open to the user new possibilities of utilization. By an automatic switchover of the control or steering lever in accordance with the position of the seat assembly, optimum operation of the wheel chair is obtained.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,645 to Korber discloses an electric wheelchair comprising drive wheels on one axle group, and swivel wheels on a second axle group, with the swivel wheels being either freely pivotable or positively steerable by an engageable steering drive. The positive steering system may have either a purely electric configuration in the form of a pair of electric steering drives, or an electro-mechanical configuration in the form of a common steering drive and a mechanical steering mechanism with electro-mechanical disengagement of the positive steering system. Switch-over from pivoting to steering operation is monitored by position sensors provided on the swivel wheels. As the seat assembly is adapted to be rotated to a corresponding position, the swivel wheels may be operated alternatively as the front wheels or the rear wheels of the wheel chair. Owing to the engageable steering drive, the wheel-chair is well adapted for both indoor operation and outdoor operation, thereby considerably enhancing the mobility of a disabled person.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,008 to Mankowski discloses a rotatable stand-up wheelchair or invalid mobility device which includes a main drive chassis having front and rear wheels. A means for raising and lowering the seat and back portion of the wheelchair raises and lowers the invalid from a substantially seated position on the seat to a substantially standing position supported by a foot plate attached to the base of the wheelchair. Stability of the wheelchair device is maintained by two triangular wheel configurations intercepting at their apex. In operation, the invalid can move while standing in such a fashion as the foot plate may be lowered to a close proximity to the ground so that the invalids hand approximates the level of a hand height of a non-handicapped person. This simulated normal motion and enables direct contact with countertops and other work surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,133 to Roy discloses a motorized wheel assembly in which there is a seat for receiving the occupant attached to a vertical shaft with a single central wheel mounted at the bottom of the shaft for rotation about a horizontal axis transverse to the chair and defining a direction of forward movement of the wheel forwardly of the chair. On the chair and the shaft, a battery and control unit is carried for supplying power to the drive motor of the wheel mounted on the hub of the wheel. An outrigger frame includes a sleeve slidable on the shaft and a plurality of arms extending outwardly from the sleeve. Each arm carries a castor wheel to prevent toppling of the device. Steering is achieved by the feet of the user applied to the outrigger frame to rotate the chair and the drivewheel about a vertical axis. The motor in a hub design of the wheel is achieved by providing a cylindrical housing surrounding the motor with annular bearings on the outer peripheral surface of the housing carrying the rim of the wheel which directly surrounds the housing. An output shaft at one end of the housing drives the rim through a coupling extending around the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,633 to Ezenwa discloses a powered transfer and transport system to permit disabled individuals increased mobility and freedom of movement. The powered system performs as a wheelchair in one configuration and as a bed in another, and provides powered mechanisms for variously positioning the seating surface which are operable by the occupant from the seating surface. The powered system includes mechanisms for laterally shifting, elevating, rotating, reclining and driving the seating surface. Enhanced mobility and freedom of movement for the individual results, improving the capability for independent living and expanding employment opportunities.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,248 to Finch et al discloses a power-driven and steered wheelchair comprising a pair of ground-engaging wheels mounted in laterally-spaced relationship to a frame carrying a seat for an occupant and supporting the power source and a transaxle transmission for imparting both driving and steering power to the ground-engaging wheels. Steering is accomplished by employing separate planetary drive mechanisms for each of the primary ground-engaging wheels and imparting rotation in opposite directions to the ring gears of such planetary drive mechanisms to effect the rotation of one wheel at a greater speed than the other wheel in either a forward or rearward direction, thus producing power steering of the wheelchair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,997 to Ball discloses a wheelchair basically designed for mobility impaired children ages 2-6. The wheelchair is especially designed to facilitate the child""s access to all objects and activities that would normally be available to a non-disabled child. The chair includes a power base, including large front drive wheels and small rear casters, and a seat that is positioned directly over the drive wheels and that is readily detachable from the base. All components of the wheelchair are positioned inboard of the side edges of the seat and inboard of the front edge of the seat so as to maximize access to areas alongside of and in front of the wheelchair. The axis of rotation of the front drive wheels is generally vertically aligned with the trunk of the child positioned in the seat and the composite center of gravity of the child and wheelchair is positioned slightly behind the axis of rotation of the drive wheels so that the child can tilt the wheelchair forwardly about the axis of the front drive wheels by a simple forward rotation of the child""s trunk. The wheelchair also includes a stowable footrest that readily retracts into the base of the wheelchair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,658 to Pulver discloses a mid-wheel drive or front wheel drive power wheelchair including a front stabilizer extending from the frame. A first arm is pivotally mounted to the frame at a first or upper end and a stabilizer wheel is mounted adjacent a second end. A second arm of the stabilizer assembly is pivotally connected at opposite ends to the stabilizer wheel axis and lower end of the shock assembly associated with the suspension arm. The first arm includes a dampening cylinder surrounded by a spring. The spring force preload can be selectively altered and, independently, the height of the stabilizer wheel may be adjusted.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,951 to Jindra discloses a wheelchair including a rigid upholstered seat removably mounted on a crossbrace-type chassis. The seat includes a generally square-shaped frame having a clevis assembly depending from each of the four corners of the frame. Each one of a first pair of the clevis assemblies disposed at diagonally opposed front and rear corners of the seat frame is formed with aligned generally pear-shaped openings. Each one of a second pair of the clevis assemblies disposed at the other diagonally opposed front and rear corners of the seat frame is formed with aligned generally horizontal elliptical-shaped openings. An inverted generally U-shaped mounting bracket formed with aligned openings is disposed on each end of each one of a pair of chassis sideframes. Each clevis assembly is engageable with a respective one of the U-shaped brackets so that the respective openings of the engaged brackets are aligned. A quick release pin is passed through each set of aligned openings to secure the seat to the chassis. The pear-shaped openings allow vertical articulation of the chassis relative to the seat in certain instances when a bump, depression or other irregularity on a travel surface is encountered by usually one of the wheels of the wheelchair. This articulation enables the wheelchair to insulate its occupant from shocks caused by such irregularities, and also maintains all wheels of the wheelchair in continuous contact with the travel surface to preserve occupant steering control and stability of the wheelchair.
Although the aforementioned patents have contributed substantially to the powered wheelchair art, it is an object of the present invention to improve upon the aforementioned patents and to provide a significant advancement to the powered wheelchair art.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved footrest system and an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved footrest system that automatically retracts upon nonuse of the power wheelchair.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved footrest system for a personal mobility vehicle that provides dual footrests for use as a front wheel drive power wheelchair or for use as a rear wheel drive power wheelchair.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle for switching between a front wheel drive operation and a rear wheel drive operation.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle which automatically switches from a front wheel drive operation to a rear wheel drive operation upon rotation of the powered wheelchair seat.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle that automatically switches from a front wheel drive operation to a rear wheel drive operation upon depression of a footrest.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle which automatically switches the power supply from a front wheel drive operation to a rear wheel drive operation that inhibits operation of the personal mobility vehicle during transition between a front wheel drive operation to a rear wheel drive operation.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle that is incapable of operation unless the seat is properly positioned into either the front wheel drive position or the rear wheel drive position.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle that can accommodate a removable seat without electrical disconnection.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment of the invention.
The present invention is defined by the appended claims with specific embodiments being shown in the attached drawings. For the purpose of summarizing the invention, the invention relates to an improved footrest system and an improved electrical switching device for a personal mobility vehicle.
The improved footrest system is adapted for use with a personal mobility vehicle having a chair being rotatable between a first and a second rotational station. The improved footrest system comprises a first and a second footrest plate mounted to the personal mobility vehicle with each of the first and second footrest plates being biased into an inoperative position. The first and second footrest plates are movable into an operative position by the feet of an operator for providing a footrest for the operator for each of the first and second rotational stations of the chair.
In a more specific example of the invention, the first and second footrest plates are biased into an inoperative position comprises a first and a second spring resiliently pivoting the first and second footrest plates into the inoperative generally vertical position. The first and second footrest plates are pivotable into a generally horizontal position. Preferably, a first and a second adjustable stop adjust the orientation of the operative position of the first and second footrest plates.
The improved electrical switching device is adapted for use with a personal mobility vehicle for switching between a front wheel drive operation and a rear wheel drive operation. The improved electrical switching device comprises a frame having a pair of driving wheels mounted to the frame. A pair of idler wheels are mounted to the frame. A first and second switch is connected to a power source. The first switch is actuated for energizing the control for a front wheel drive operation. The second switch is actuated for energizing the control for a rear wheel drive operation. The first and second switches are actuated by a rotation of a component of the personal mobility vehicle.
In one example of the invention, a chair is rotatably mounted to the personal mobility vehicle. The first switch is actuated when the seat is rotated into a position with the drive wheels being in front of the seat for energizing the control for a front wheel drive operation. The second switch is actuated when the seat is rotated into a position with the drive wheels being behind the seat for energizing the control for a rear wheel drive operation.
In another example of the invention, a first and a second footrest is pivotably mounted to the personal mobility vehicle. The first switch is actuated when the first footrest is pivoted into an operative position for energizing the control for a front wheel drive operation. The second switch is actuated when the second footrest is pivoted into an operative position for energizing the control for a rear wheel drive operation.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject matter of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiments disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.